Medicare Advantage

Before Dec. 7: What Tampa Members Need to Check

Hillsborough County has 105 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 29 plans are not coming back, 20 are new, and 32 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 19 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Tampa, not which plan to pick.

Medicare AdvantageTampa, FL

TAMPA — As the Annual Enrollment Period runs through Dec. 7, some Medicare Advantage members in Hillsborough County will find that the plan they have in 2026 is not coming back for 2027. Others will see their plan return under a new name, and a few brand-new plans are joining the market. Here is what is shifting and what a member can do about it.

According to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape files, 29 Medicare Advantage plans offered in Hillsborough County in 2026 will not be offered in 2027, 20 plans are new, and 19 are keeping the same underlying plan but changing their names. Another 32 continuing plans have a change on file — CMS flags a difference in premium, deductible, plan type or name — and 85 plans continue without those flags. One carrier, American Health Advantage of Florida, will not offer a plan in the county next year.

What "leaving," "new" and "renamed" mean here

Tampa is in Hillsborough County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set. When CMS says a plan is "leaving," it means the insurer is not offering that specific contract in the county next year. Members are not dropped from Medicare — they simply need to choose a different Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare (and, usually, add a stand-alone Part D plan).

A "new" plan is one that will be sold in the county for the first time in 2027. A "renamed" plan is the same underlying plan carrying a new label — your coverage identifier changes on paper, but it is a continuation, not a non-renewal. You should still read the ANOC to see if anything else changed along with the name.

Plans that will not return in 2027

The full table on this page lists every plan. In the "leaving" category, CMS lists plans across several carriers, including Aetna (CVS Health), Align Senior Care, American Health Advantage of Florida, BayCare Health Plans, Centene (WellCare), Doctors HealthCare Plans, Elevance Health (Anthem), Florida Complete Care, Humana, Solis Health Plans, Ultimate Health Plans and UnitedHealthcare. Elevance Health and Humana have the most plans on this cycle's non-renewal list in the county.

If you are enrolled in one of these plans, your carrier is required to mail you a non-renewal notice this fall. Keep that letter — it is your proof of the Special Enrollment Period.

Plans that are new for 2027

Twenty new plans are joining the Hillsborough County market. The new-plan list spans Aetna (CVS Health), Align Senior Care, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Doctors HealthCare Plans, Florida Blue, Florida Complete Care, Gold Kidney Health Plan, Humana, SECUR Health Plan, Solis Health Plans, Ultimate Health Plans and UnitedHealthcare. Several are Special Needs Plans (SNPs) built for people with certain chronic conditions or with both Medicare and Medicaid — you generally need to qualify to enroll. The table below shows the exact names and plan types.

Plans that are being renamed

Nineteen plans are keeping their coverage but changing names for 2027. Renames this cycle touch Aetna (CVS Health), Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Doctors HealthCare Plans, Humana and UnitedHealthcare. A rename alone is not a reason to switch, but it is a reason to open the envelope — sometimes a rename comes with other changes that are spelled out in the ANOC.

What to do if your plan is leaving

If your Medicare Advantage plan is not being renewed for 2027, you have two enrollment windows:

• Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7): pick a new plan that starts Jan. 1.
• Special Enrollment Period for non-renewals: runs through the end of February. You can use this to join another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and add a Part D plan.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment (Jan. 1 – March 31): if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, you can make one change during this window.

Before you choose, check that your doctors, hospitals and regular prescriptions are covered under the new plan. Networks and drug lists (formularies) reset every year.

Program-level facts worth knowing for 2026 and 2027

These apply nationally, not just in Tampa:

• Part D has a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap in 2026 and a $2,400 cap in 2027, and the old "donut hole" is gone — there are now three coverage phases.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly payments, at no added charge.
• IRMAA (higher Part B and Part D premiums for higher incomes) begins above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

CMS publishes the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, along with the IRMAA income brackets, later in the fall at medicare.gov.